Date of Award

Fall 12-15-2016

Document Type

Open Access Thesis

Call Number

PS3603.A89958 B42 2016

Degree Name

Master of Fine Arts (MFA)

Department

Stonecoast

First Advisor

Michael Kimball

Abstract

This thesis contains the first seven chapters of the novel Ravenous, the short story “Faithfall,” and the academic paper “From Hellhound to Hero: Tracking the Shifting Shape of the 21st Century Werewolf.” Both of the stories deal with werewolves as a common element, but use very different types of werewolves in each. The werewolves of Ravenous transform through losing control or giving in to their passions, while the werewolves in “Faithfall” change only with the full moon, and retain no control once transformed. Both stories have a gay male protagonist, though also in very different ways. Ravenous follows the story of a seventeen-year-old young man learning that he is a werewolf, and uses this to explore themes such as coming of age, hungering for belonging, and dealing with feeling like a monster. “Faithfall” follows a gay adult soldier in a future society where this aspect is irrelevant, and combines werewolves with science fiction to explore the themes of love, loss, and the search for forgiveness.

Though these two stories are very different, they are both violent, intimate, and earthy in ways that reflect the writer’s style, personality, and passions. Included with these works is the academic paper “From Hellhound to Hero: Tracking the Shifting Shape of the 21st Century Werewolf.” This paper explores the history of the werewolf through lore and literature, and points out three main attributes of the modern werewolf that differ from the werewolves of the past, while explaining how these unique features of the modern werewolf came to be.

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